So right, EC's playing always seems to blossom in a sparring situation.

Ok, thanks for that. I saw him live with Cream in 1968, and I have never seen him that brilliant since. Nowhere near.

I agree about Albert Lee spurring Eric. Just One Night is one of my favourite live albums.

Me, too. Wish I could have been there. Still on bucket list to see him live, and I know he is ailing.

@@ikestoddard2458 Front Row Clapton LIVE 1987 Melbourne Australia. He fired up that night and was only being backed by bass, keys and drums so he had to play lead, rhythm and sing all night. He was rightly applauded. Subsequent shows I have seen him play LIVE were not so good.On that night back in1987 he was inspired and not going through the motions at all.

I'm at a loss how Clapton could be described as a strummer....

@@sirkayda7205 I guess you’re not a guitar player.. creams music had a pounding driving force.. he was the gimmic, The reason for the song period songs like spoonful on the wheels of fire album. their music coined the phrase, heavy music.. A couple of bands later, and his music barely has a pulse. It’s almost like country western music where the focus of the music is the lyrics.. I suppose the same thing that Hendrix said happened to him, happened to Clapton.. Hendrix said, it’s very hard to come up with another foxy Lady or all along the watchtower.. I don’t know how old you are, but I know exactly where I was the first time I heard foxy lady on the radio of my 59 Chevy.. I was going north on Union Avenue out of Avalon into West view. I was not only mesmerized. I could not believe it.. I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard sunshine of your love. I was sunbathing at Bellevue pool when that came over the PA system that they always had the radio on. I could not have been more stunned by that riff , my reaction would have been exactly the same if a UFO has landed beside the pool..I had the same concussion from the impact of the first time I heard a band called Led Zeppelin’s first album. The first song was good times bad times. I plugged my turntable into my fender super reverb which is how I listened to albums in my room then. And I heard those intro power chords- blaring.. Every time I hear that song, those chords, It has the same impact.. Clapton was one of those guitar players that had that effect.. his guitar gradually toned down, and his style went from bolero rising to a crescendo- to ballads..You wouldn’t categorize any of his later music after cream or blind faith as heavy metal that makes you not only tap your foot, cream’s music made you want to rip your shirt off and do a war dance around raging tribal fires.. clapton / cream created heavy metal, that is what he is known for. But his music today and in the years following cream, is the music he will be forgotten for.. oh sure he’s had a few catchy tunes that hit the top 40 charts, but that’s not the music I think of when I hear the name Clapton.. Robin Trower never deserted his style, Stevie Ray Vaughan never deserted his style, Eddie Van Halen never deserted his style, Alvin Lee, Jimmy page,, they all kept the pressure up.. Clapton on the other hand, figuratively let the air out of his tires. He should’ve kept cranking the way Joe Bonamassa does, but clapton throttled back in the early 70s, and I have never seen or heard him turn up the pressure since.. when I went to see Clapton live, I expected to see and hear a thunderstorm on stage..The music was great and on time and he was accompanied by real pros in every phase, lighting, the soundman, you could hear every instrument, every microphone, but it was not a thunderstorm. It was merely a light shower

@@Jodyrides Eric evolved with the times is why, you should know this being a guitar player. He made himself relevant each decade he had hits, so with age he changed to playing with different sounds and genres

@@Jodyrides What happened was Eric came to Tulsa, and was influenced by the Bramletts , JJ Cale, and Leon Russell. Eric learned how to put a little soul, a little "roll" in his rock. The older albums are still there to be enjoyed if you like louder and faster music.

@@Jodyrides I feel your pain I grew up too late to see Eric in his glory years. I saw him once, ONCE! It was the summer of '82 after a forgetful album a forgetful tour called Money for Whiskey and Cigarettes or something like that. He was slow and lacked any passion. It was the first and only time I had seen assigned seating on the coliseum floor. The only time the audience got excited was when he played my least favorite song he had, "Cocaine". The only good things I can say about the show are 1- The band was tight, even if I can't remember who was in it. and 2- The ticket was only about $12. It's sad that I don't remember him playing any of the songs that anybody would think of when you think of Eric Clapton. And I was such a fan of his before that night.

Ditto and amen!

I agree with your opinion. I also think that a lot of what was not mentioned is that Hendrix was burning up the Stratocaster on stage and on records from 66 until his death and other guitarist were trying to distance themselves from the Stratocaster because of his influence. The Gibsons were associated with jazz and r&b players in the early days for their warm and fat tones. It wasn't until after Jimi's death in 1970 that the Les Paul and other Gibson models became as prominent during the Page/Frampton era of stadium rock in my humble opinion.

@Maximus Indicus Oblivious slow hand just didn't have the sustain using a strat. It's kinda sad, but his whole career changed anyway. My favourite strat tone of his might be his number on the Last Waltz. That was quite ok!

I agree, as well.

Totally agree. That beautiful warm Gibson sound that guys like Clapton, Mick Taylor (my all time favourite), Paul Kossof had in the late 60's; just cut through in a way that so suited the epic blues rock playing these guys were inventing (steeped in the 'blues greats', sure, but they were clearly taking it somewhere else). It was a 'sweet-spot' time to me, just before the Chicago blues sound gave way to straight rock playing in the 70's. Hendrix, knopfler etc; wow! but for me Clapton lost a certain edge when he got 'strated' up (Bell bottom blues being the 'exact' case in point).

The volume thing happened to me in Austin, watching Johnny Winter. I had to move to the back. He was running through a six speaker Music Man cab. Ridiculously loud.

@@josephgriffin2388 Yep. I saw him and his brother Edgar at an event in Miami, and they played super loud! By then I was in my twenties and had gotten a bit more used to it, but I never really liked it that much.

I saw Aerosmith in 1976 when I was a senior in high school. I had already been to many concerts, but this one was the loudest I had ever attended. A stayed for the whole show but it became very uncomfortable as the concert wore on. Afterwards my ears were ringing for two days and I had a terrible headache. Later in my thirties I developed tinnitus - not just from loud music but from shooting firearms A LOT without hearing protection. Oh well, we do stupid things when we are young and we think we will live forever.

@@es2056Don’t change perspective (person) in midstream. If you say, “ . . . one does stupid things . . .” continue to say “when ‘one’ is younger” not “when ‘you’ are younger.”

earplugs

Yes!! Playing the Strat sounded lame, really lost the vibe completely

Apparently there were a number of Gibsons available on stage but he never used any of them.

You can have humbuckers on strats. That would of been cool for the Cream reunion.

you are right - in fact his guitar tech set up a Marshall stack for him at the Cream rehearsals and Clapton angrily told him to take it down and replace them with his tweed set up, a lovely sound but not at the races if you are trying to recreate the Cream sounds of the 60s and he clearly wasnt interested in doing that - A bit like the horrible swing version of the Crossroads

Great comment, thanks.

Yes! I started my guitar journey after hearing "Sunshine of Your Love ". I was a drummer prior to that day .

The red Gibson 335 with the Marshalls was the best tone. Watch the Last Cream Concert footage from the Royal Albert Hall which I believe was their farewell concert. His sound is amazing. When they did the reunion between Clapton using the Strat and Fender amps and Jack Bruce using a fretless bass with clean Mesa Boogie amps (again no Marshalls) they just didn't have the sound.

Yes I think Eric's best work was with Cream No Doubt

@@tompease8810 His solos with a Gibson were astounding. The live crossroads playing is so inspired and as good a tone as you’ll ever hear!! Not that he hasn’t made great music with a Strat, we all know he went in a different direction after he heard “The Band”. He’s a great singer and a good slide player so he had plenty of avenues to explore. It’s just his solos became more generic from that point on in my opinion

Defo his most vicious licks with the Gibson and Marshall. They spat fire

Dunno why he never put humbuckers in his strat for that kind of stuff. Thats the difference...not a brand name.

From the Cradle, is my favorite album of his. Unplugged being a close 2nd.

@Gus Shredney Yes. Im aware of that, but seeing how much of heavier music is produced by strats or strat like guitars. I doubt anybody knows the difference untill they see the actual player. It doesnt matter that much. Humbucker and single coils, now thats an audible difference.

Totally agree. Eric said they tried Gibsons during rehearsals for the reunion concert but Bruce said they made his ears ring and hurt them. Big irony - Bruce's volume in the 60's caused deafness or near in EC and partial in Baker.

Spot on, Keef. That’s a fact. Disraeli Gears confirms your comment.

The lead singer in my band convinced me to start giving my extra guitars to people who needs them. Some went to prisoners. They really should be played and everyone should get a chance to play

My 2001 Gibson Les Paul Standard stays in tune and is gigged hard.

I'm with you Ike

That's because humbuckers are more mellow than single coils. You can make a Strat sound pretty close to a Les Paul with help from overdrive, but you can't make an LP sound like a Strat!

@@jeffrogers5929 Eric's tone was thicker without those transient highs vs a Strat. I've got plenty of Strats with humbuckers. It's the harmonics based on the placement of the pickups. Same reason SGs sound different from Les Pauls. I've never heard a Strat sound like Les Paul or vice-versa.

Was Clapton's tone not mellow on the songs Bad Love, or Pretending?

@@TheNoncritical1 Maybe. I did not check out all his recordings. Did he use a Strat on those tracks.

Personally, I think Ed Van Halen got it right. Gibson Humbucker on a Strat style body. Best of both worlds!

@@briandietrich1373 he sure did

Yeah. And it suited his playing and writing at that time.

True, and those of us who grew up listening to early Eric know what we like. I think that if he'd moved away from the blues, which at times he did to some degree, then the Fender versus Gibson debate would be moot. But when he does Cream at the Royal Albert on a gaudy looking Strat through Tweed amps (probably Fender, I've not seen the video for some time), well it's kind of like Superman showing up as Jerry Seinfeld. They both have their own powers, though if one is expecting Superman.... The upside is that EC is happy, 95% of his fans don't know the difference between a Fender and a Gibson, and that debates like this give us something to do. 🙂

@@MrCherryJuice but we cant help it can we...because itsVERY important to us LOL

Studio recordings are one thing, playing live is another. Ever heard a live version of it that sounded remotely close to the studio version? If you do, please share it with me. I'd love to hear it.

@@PaulSter i have seen him play live ,many times and unfortunately i have n ever heard him come close to the studio version,

@@PaulSter Thats so true.....Its often suprising how fiddling around with something you didnt expect gets the sound much closer and many studios often use plate reverb which sounds waaay different than spring.

@Rebel Edsel I'm referring to EC only. Tons of bands nail their studio performances. AC/DC definitely one of them who did it for decades. Only in later years did they drop down a half-step; very likely to help Brian Johnson with the high notes, but I really liked the heavier tone it gave them.

My favorite Clapton song next to Keep on Growing

Very true

tell the truth, brother

Yep! His tone has SUCKED ever since. His guitar sounds like khaki pants with pickups in them. Just the sound of bland and boring.

@@e.l.norton great definition

I agree, not sure what the word for that thinner cleaner sound is, but Eric's preference later in his career apparently wasn't for heavy or dark tone. The strat suited him.

And no Marshall amps

I have to agree. The sound of the reunion concert was thin and wimpy. Even though all three members of Cream are truly awesome musicians, the energy just wasn't there for me.

I concur!

As far as I’m concerned, they should’ve been playing through the exact same rigs as they used in the 60s. Full stacks absolutely cranked up is the only way to hear Cream as they were meant to be heard. No one on earth would ever tell Eric that he isn’t allowed to play as loudly as he wants/needs to in order for the whole thing to work as it should. Yeah it would’ve been insanely loud, so what? Rock was just straight up LOUD back in those days and there wasn’t much getting around it. Wear some earplugs if you’re worried about the volume and let the band do what was needed to be done to recapture that 60s power and sound. I imagine the earth-rumbling loudness was a huge draw for the band back then; no one had ever heard (and felt) volume levels that high ever before, and I’m sure it was absolutely incredible to feel that live in person. Plus, in order to sound full and massive as a trio like they were, it really requires a huge, thick guitar tone that fender strats and amps don’t really do as well as Marshall’s and gibsons. Trios don’t work as well when you’ve only got that thin single coil tone going on, especially considering that the guitar is required to fill up a massive part of the frequency spectrum as the main melodic instrument in a trio. PS. Should’ve said this earlier, but obviously there are several examples of strat players successfully filling out the space in a trio. Hendrix, and SRV are great examples of that. They work in those settings because their tones were absolutely and deliberately massive. Cranked Marshalls with fuzz pedals or cranked Super Reverbs with Tube Screamers will undoubtedly be able to pull their weight in a trio. But Clapton’s tone there lacked that fullness, as many here have said. I would have LOVED to see him pull out an SG for at least a song or two.

That concert sounded more like skimmed milk than Cream

He had a 335 before a les Paul

@@peterwynn7270 Nope. Show me real evidence.

@@TweedSuit He bought the 335 when he was in the Yardbirds in 1964, he mentions it in is biography if you search for this 335 the auction where it was sold also notes this.

... lol ... of course he's a guitarist and the guitars are to be tuned up.

That was the "nothing but the blues" tour. He used the type of guitar used on the original recording by the original artist. That gave him the ability to have the same sound as the original. Brilliant. Saw him a few times then. Many times before and after that time. Never ever a disappointment. But am a little biased. Love him.

@@rays57232 I didn't know that. That period was Eric's peak.

Uh-oh! I feel a kind of ‘Paul is dead’ hoax coming on! 😂

So when did 'the change' occur?

@@sonclearbrahman-ar1461 the flu vaccine made him like single coils. That’s why he’s anti-vax now.

Explain using gibsons until Cream broke up. In 1968.

Agree.

I 100% agree with you brother

100% agree with this. His Strat tones are all over the place and inconsistent. Even on the Layla album, Duane Allman's lead playing on Little Wing has such a beautiful, dreamy sound to it. You completely forget about Clapton's Strat on that track as Allman just soars over the song and delivers beautiful melodic solo fills.

@@mikemurdock7234 absolutely true. Eric didn't know where to go with the essence of the song. Duane, and his Les Paul, took it by the horns and made it legendary.

It's the neck pick-up on starts that has that glassy tone, and the pop sound when you use a pick, it's that sound that Eric loved, Eric Johnson does the same thing, it depends on the 5 way switch as well

Thanks Richard!

In the history of guitar, there is a short list of legendary tones. Eddie's brown sound. Eric Johnson's violin tone. Greeny's out of phase tone. SRV. Any sane version of that list has two Clapton tones on it, neither of which used a strat.

@@sdkee SRV and Eric Johnson both used Strats (Eric Johnson may still). I don't understand your comment.

@@MrChopsticktech his comment about strats refers to Clapton.

I think he plays both pretty good

Exactly Eric's problem.

Yes, but with that in mind, why doesn't Clapton do much with his? I mean, look at Jeff Beck - he has been actively figuring out just what a Strat can do for the past 50 years. I don't mean that as a negative on Clapton, just an observation. IMO he plays and sounds better on a 335.

@@MrCherryJuice i could never figure out why he did the cream reunion on a strat they are such different guitars in sound and feel

Thanks for saving me 20 minutes

It's about dynamics for me. It's hard to move seamlessly between a strat and most other guitar styles just because strats have such wide dynamic range. Your fingering and pick velocity change so much about the sound, fidelity, and volume of each note that the higher output of even a 50s PAF doesn't feel very expressive next to a strat. Plus the rounder fretboard and longer scale length give them a unique tension puts them right in my sweet spot. Idk if that's what Clapton was talking about but it's right where my brain went when I read this.

Nothing's been 'made up' here: the presenter gives his opinion which is presented as an assertion but still implicitly recognised as an opinion.

Such as your comment.

mine's a '78 (had the neck stabilized by a genius luthier) purchased in '79/'80. had a Gibson Paul before that. punted the Paul to my best friend and never let the Strat out of my sight. the Strat puts out tones the Paul never could. referencing the Clapton quotation above about how versatile the guitar is. and haven't even mentioned how comforatable it is when you're playing for a long spell.

@@michaels.chupka9411 I modded a cheap (but nice) 'overseas' acoustic that was difficult to play. Once I dropped the action by half its factory number, it became a great guitar! Then I got the notion to measure my US-made, modern Fender 'Pro' guitars ... what a shock to find their factory parts and action were easily as cheap-o high as the mall acoustic! It took much convincing to 'techs' to file down nut slots and drop relief by half.

He has boosters built into his Strats, so he get get a hotter, more Gibson-like sound. When I got the 'Five Live Yardbirds' album in '65 I was disappointed by the aggravating sound of Clapton's Telecaster - and that he was ripping out so many notes so quickly. It was painful at the time. Jeff Beck also played a Fender (Esquire) during much of his time with the Yardbirds, so he too had a thin sound (typically boosted with a fuzz or overdrive pedal). Both he and Clapton sounded much better when they switched to Les Pauls, as that was the thing to do at the time (a trend started by Clapton). But let us also remember that these players grew up listening to Hank Marvin with the Shadows. The wonderful tone and melodic playing that are his legacy provided the benchmark for everyone from Clapton and Beck, to Page, Knopfler, Green, Taylor, Marsden, Blackmore and so many more. Indeed, Marvin's sound epitomised all that is great about the Stratocaster. Yes, Hendrix took it to another planet, but even his finest sounds were essentially Hank Marvin's on Marshall-powered steroids.

Many thanks indeed

Thank you very much

I'm glad you mentioned it - it is a beautiful rendition of that classic song. It doesn't come up on KZfaq which is disappointing. I don't know anything about Ramon Goose, I'll have to check him out further.

I always felt that he went with the Strat because at the time he was with Delaney & Bonnie, and American rock 'n' soul band whose set list included covers of late 50s American rock 'n' roll tunes. Plus, like most other British guitar greats he had grown up hearing Hank Marvin's fabulous Strat playing and tone on records by the Shadows. Indeed, pretty well every guitarist from Clapton, Beck and Page, to Peter Green, Mark Knopfler, Brian May, etc. lusted after Marvin's tone and melodic style. And he was a massive Buddy Guy fan, which is surely 99% of his initial rationale for going to a Strat.

Yeah some people are Fender players and some Gibson, and Eric's really a Gibson player - he just doesn't know it

Yes, the styles were purer. On the 'Beano' album he was playing nothing but the blues. And as he says of those days, he was an angry, egotistical, self-centred arrogant bastard in search of attention, thus the aggressive go-for-the-throat aggression of his playing. In Cream he was the junior partner and was in awe - and rightfully so - of Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, who he idolised from his days of seeing them with the Graham Bond Organisation and doing a short stint with Bruce when the bassist was also in the Bluesbreakers (late '65, replacing John McVie, who was in and out of the band a couple times due to his excessive drinking). With Delaney & Bonnie the Stratocaster (and occasional Les Paul) was fine. Ditto much of his solo material, particularly the more countrified tunes ('Tulsa Time', 'Lay Down Sally' etc.). But listening to him doing the blues on a 335 is a reminder that THAT is the guitar with which he, IMO, plays the most expressively and sounds the most authentic. Check out 'Reconsider Baby' from the Jools Holland show and the same tune from San Francisco (1994). Videos for both are on KZfaq. Despite my first album (1965) being 'Five Live Yardbirds (with Clapton)' and me loving Cream (mainly Jack Bruce's great tunes) and having everything from Delaney & Bonnie (including the 4-disc version of 'On Tour with Eric Clapton') I've never been an EC fan. Still, the aforementioned clips do the trick.

@@MrCherryJuice Then listen to the Layla album. That might change your mind.

@@MrCherryJuice cool, yeah I checked that stuff out, I guess I think he really fits better with the Gibson stuff, I'll bet it comes down to mostly the differences in the pickups between Fender and Gibson , the fender single coils on a strat, always remind me of a sound that's coming out of a lucite tube, kind of a hollow sound, they are weaker pickups and produce a clear sound, ethereal, the Gibson humbuckers always sound thick and smoother to me like it has a thicker quality, less transparent like it's a more solid sound,

@@Baci302 I was one of the few who purchased that album when it came out (it was a commercial flop), and only because the Dominos were the Delaney & Bonnie rhythm section. I didn't like it then, and aside from 'I Looked Away', 'Bell Bottom Blues' and the title track I don't like it now. IMO it is not a great album. I still have a copy, now on CD, though only for the aforementioned tunes. The jammy blues tunes on it and others subsequently released (some featuring members of the Allman Brothers Band) are tedious meanderings by players who were too out of it too much of the time to make the album they could have made. Indeed, the band's live album captures some of what might have been...though some sharp editing would have been welcome. I mean, if I want to listen to extended tunes, the Allman Brothers win outright in that department. And thankfully Duane didn't take up Clapton's offer to become a Domino.

@@jroc2201 Yes, though the irony is that Clapton has a boost in his Strats that makes them sound somewhat like a Gibson. It's a sound I dislike - too thick and lacking in transparency. Yes, Gibson's humbuckers also sound thick, but there is a richness to the tone that I do not hear in those boosted humbuckers. It is quite different when Jeff Beck is on his Strat - he can get into thick-tone territory and make it sound authentic because he will adjust his playing in order to facilitate a more authentic tone. The first two tunes here are great examples of the sounds he can pull out of a Strat. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oLJhatGp26jYco0.html

Makes a lot of sense to me. I saw him at the Montreal Forum in 1988-ish when he toured with Mark Knopfler in his band. He played a Strat the entire night and the Cream stuff he played sounded as good as when he played it on the albums with a Gibson. I tend to think a lot of the tone mythology in the Gibson v Fender debate is exactly that: mythology. Crank up a Strat through a tube screamer into a Marshall amp and your tone will be as ballsy as you could ever want. What separates the Clapton's of the world from the rest of us isn't the guitar or the pedal or the amp, it's the feel.

Sorry, but owing to simple physics, aka-scale length, one can never sound like the other.

you've got all that garbage packed in , to give it a sound it's intrinsically incapable of ... glorified on-board foot pedals

He wasn't wrong. I bought a Strat because I was into Jimi. Although I should add that I'm also a fan of Clapton and David Gilmour.

@@DinsdalePiranha67 It interesting that the Stratocaster is timeless and people will never abandon it.

@@senseofstile It doesn't hurt that it's also versatile.

@@DinsdalePiranha67 Yes

Not everyone. I play a strat more to mimic a Rory Gallagher sound.

I was driving the limo and I was also his guitar tech' at that time he played 8's it was 2 years later before he changed string gauge. I remember almost running over you in the parking lot.

thanks, merry xmas

I agree with you. As a guitarist who has played LPs, ES335s, Strats and Teles in bands, the LP sounds great but kills your back. When I play a Strat or Tele, I can play 3 long sets with no ill effects. The Gibson sound is more pleasing to my ears, but the lighter, more comfortable Fender guitars will extend your career. My solution is that I installed Seymour Duncan stack (humbucker) pickups on my Tele, and it solves both problems.

@@baron34gr I should have done that to the Jimmy Page Tele I had a couple of years ago. Honestly though, I prefer a guitar without a crazy 1960s paint job so if I ever buy another Tele, it's gonna have a solid color.

EC's "Woman Tone" was all Gibson with the tone knob(s) turned way back The " Beano" LP was stolen, never to resurface. Gibson is why EC was said to be "God" Thank you: Seth Lover, Ted McCarty and Lester Paulfus and Leonardo Fender as well. (Leo did not even play guitar)

Thank you very much

Very true. I for one tend to forget Clapton's infatuation with The Band, even to the point of visiting the lads at Big Pink in an effort to join them. I always cite Hank Marvin of the Shadows and Buddy Guy as being influences in the choice of Strat, and note his time with Delaney & Bonnie as a great opportunity to use one was being the basis of his decision to make the switch.

@@MrCherryJuice Excellent post.

Eric joining your band was a curse. Read his biography. He dumped everyone he worked with and just walked away when the project was over. He was already in another band before anyone noticed he wandered off.

Actually, Robbie used a Tele until the mid seventies.

@@markhunter8554 Yes, Dylan was the Strat player. Ironically, Robertson switched to a Strat and Dylan went to a Telecaster.

Yes

Hank Marvin of the Shadows and Buddy Guy - both noted Strat players - were huge influences on Clapton prior to the arrival of Hendrix. That doesn't mean that Jimi's choice of guitar didn't influence EC's, but is a reminder that there were likely numerous factors...including Clapton playing with American rock 'n' soul band Delaney & Bonnie, where the Fender sound made perfect sense. BTW, Jeff Beck also cites Hank Marvin and Buddy Guy as major inspiration for his own love of Strats.

@@MrCherryJuice After Hendrix first time playing with Cream Eric got a perm & started using way more Fuzz & gain! 🤔

Jimi Hendrix 🎸

Not true. Get your facts right.

Money and Cigarettes Tour with most of the Blues Brothers band?

@@paulcochrane1028 No it wasn't. It's such along time ago.

Well written, I do think that his whole spirit is the embodiment of creativity though: keeping things simple and not wasting any energy on anything else but pure soul!

Clapton was quoted as saying:When I first saw Jimi,I didn'twant to be like him;I wanted to BE HIM! That's why he switched to strats when everyone,including himself knows that Gibson is his weapon.

All else is whitewash and b.s.

Well stated, and I completely agree.

Hendrix had a custom shop, lefty Flying V that he dearly loved, near the end . . . but people kept saying "Jimi , where's your Strat - Where's your upside-down strat !?" and kept him chained to the old dog

Many thanks indeed

nice Richard!

I get that too, for me has to be maple on Tele's.

You are welcome!

I saw Cream twice and Blond Faith once and every time Clapton played the one pickup Firebird.

Funny you should mention this. Although he abandoned the SG some time ago I will forever remember him as and relate to Buck as being a SG player. A fellow guitar player friend of mine was a HUGE fan of his and actually owned a white SG just like the one he used to play. He for some reason sold it later on and will go to his grave regretting that. I never got to see Buck play when he used SG'S I never got to see him until later years but I will still always think of him as an SG man!

Completely agree! That beautiful warm Gibson sound that guys like Clapton, Mick Taylor, Paul Kossof had in the late 60's; just cut through in a way that so suited the epic blues rock playing these guys were inventing (steeped in the 'blues greats', sure, but they were clearly taking it somewhere else). It was a 'sweet-spot' time to me, just before the Chicago blues sound gave way to straight rock playing in the 70's. Hendrix, knopfler; wow! but for me Clapton lost a certain edge when he got strated up (Bell bottom blues being the 'exact' case in point).

@@brigwood7658 absolutely my friend. Thank God for recording technology. Listen to Crossroads for instance. That was a live performance and sounds better than any new studio track put out since. Just roaring tube amps and the right guitar for the job. A strat has its place but when it comes to roaring tone a vintage gibson delivers best

@@brigwood7658 k

Your opinion has been noted.

@@alexwoolridge94aw was that his 335????

Pleasure

Thanks Woody

Yes, Clapton has noted that during his Bluesbreakers days he played so aggressively because he was an arrogant, egotistical and insecure bastard in search of attention (his words, not mine). After Cream, where he the novice of the band, he did lose the ferocity we heard on the 'Beano' album. He was surely exhausted after Cream. Also, the music he was playing by the end of the 60s - Blind Faith, Delaney & Bonnie' - called for playing that was more straight-up rock 'n' roll, not blistering blues. The irony about him not using humbuckers is that his Strat pickups are fed through a built-in boost in an effort to give them a more Gibson-like 'hot' sound. Yes, he gets a hotter sound but it remains a modified Strat sound, not a humbucker. There is a big difference, and that is evident whenever he plays a 335. Possibly it is the guitar, possibly it is the response of the pickups, but his playing - physically, musically and tonally - takes on a different life...the kind of life many of us who remember the 60s actually prefer. Go watch KZfaq clips of 'Reconsider Baby' on the Jools Holland show and also live in San Francisco in '94. Nice stuff.

@@MrCherryJuice You are absolutely spot on! The mid boost circuitry on his Strats and his signature amps basically try to make the Strat sound like a Gibson.